The present invention relates to a sheet dispenser apparatus such as an automated teller machine and, more particularly, to a sheet container and a sheet dispenser apparatus which are light-weight and simplified in structure and which can be produced at a low cost.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-12535 discloses a structure in which a sheet container includes a whole mechanism for sheet separation. In this structure, means such as gears are necessary for transmitting a separation driving force from a main body of a sheet dispenser mechanism to the sheet container, and an electromagnetic clutch is required for switching the driving force, resulting in a problem that the weight and the price of the sheet container are increased.
Further, Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 62-144844 discloses a structure in which a sheet separation mechanism is provided in a sheet dispenser apparatus at the outside of a sheet container, while a sheet delivery mechanism is provided in the sheet container. In this structure, when the sheet container is attached to or detached from a main body of an apparatus, the operation changes a condition of contact between the lower end portion of a stack of sheets and frictional separation means so that two or more sheets of paper may be delivered at once or that it may become impossible to send a sheet of paper out of the container, resulting in difficulty of making the performance reliable. Besides, since the sheet delivery mechanism is provided in the sheet container, there are problems that means for transmitting a driving force from the main body of the apparatus are necessary, and that the weight of the container itself is increased.